Multiple sclerosis is a terrible disease that affects many people worldwide. Most people don’t call it by its full name but they use the common abbreviation, MS. This disease affects people in very difficult ways. It involves the nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord. Individuals who suffer from this problem may go through a wide variety of symptoms that can be both mental and physical. Some of the more common issues include blindness, double vision, muscle problems and psychological issues.
Some people are able to live with MS for many years but others experience such difficult problems in their life that it shortens their lifespan considerably. MS can also be fatal in many cases. Like many different types of diseases, the medications that are available for those who suffer from MS tend to focus more on the symptoms rather than on the disease itself. You may be able to take the medication and to live a life that has more promise but there has not been anything available to provide a cure for the disease as of yet.
MS is more than just a disease that affects the individual who suffer indirectly; it also affects the lives of everyone who come in contact with them as well. The caretakers may struggle to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible and the family members may go through a considerable amount of stress as they worry about their family member and their health. Certainly, a cure is something that would be beneficial for those who are suffering but now it seems as if it may not be as far away as was at one time.
According to Dr. Su Metcalfe, scientists may now be on the verge of a medical breakthrough that could change everything for millions of people who are dealing with this disease. It is more than just a glimmer of hope, it is the possibility of a cure that will be nothing short of a medical miracle.
According to Dr. Metcalfe, the nerve cells are being attacked in the nervous system but this process may be stopped because of the medical development that is about ready to enter the market. Her company is responsible for coming up with this potential pure. She had this to say:
“Some people get progressive MS, so go straight to the severe form of the disease, but the majority have a relapsing or remitting version,” Dr. Metcalfe said to Cambridge News.
“It can start from the age of 30, and there’s no cure, so all you can do is suppress the immune response, but the drugs that do that have side effects, and you can’t repair the brain. The cost of those drugs is very high, and in the UK there are a lot of people who don’t get treated at all.”
Part of the immune cell, a cell particle known as LIF is used in the process that could be a treatment for individuals who suffer from MS. It is a stem cell particle and it may be able to halt the attack that is taking place on the inside of your body.
“I was looking to see what controls the immune response and stops it auto-attacking us,” she explains.
“I discovered a small binary switch, controlled by a LIF, which regulates inside the immune cell itself. LIF is able to control the cell to ensure it doesn’t attack your own body but then releases the attack when needed.
“That LIF, in addition to regulating and protecting us against attack, also plays a major role in keeping the brain and spinal cord healthy. In fact it plays a major role in tissue repair generally, turning on stem cells that are naturally occurring in the body, making it a natural regenerative medicine, but also plays a big part in repairing the brain when it’s been damaged.
“So I thought, this is fantastic. We can treat auto-immune disease, and we’ve got something to treat MS, which attacks both the brain and the spinal cord. So you have a double whammy that can stop and reverse the auto-immunity, and also repair the damage caused in the brain.”
As is the case with any type of treatment that promises to be a cure, there is more research must be done in order to ensure that this medical breakthrough is one that provides what it promises. It not only needs to treat the condition temporarily, it needs to be a permanent treatment in order to be identified as a cure.
The release date for the general public is not available as of yet. According to some estimations, 2020 is the target date but that may be a little bit aggressive. If everything goes as smoothly as possible and if the tests come out in a positive way, this ambitious goal can be reached.
“The 2020 date is ambitious, but with the funding we’ve got and the funding we’re hoping to raise, it should be possible,” she says.
Other diseases may also be considered for a similar treatment.
“Psoriasis is high up on our list, and diabetes is another. Downstream there are all the dementias because a LIF is a major health factor for the brain. So if we can get it into the brain we can start protecting against dementia.”
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H/T: Shareably